small white Mites in my tank

[equinta]

I'm dumbfounded as too what they are...does anyone have an idea of what they are? they cling to the glass and they swim around as well. they look like little worms squirming they are visible w/naked eye but too small to see details on them.

my tank has:
2 Texas Cichlid
1 Royal Green terror
4 Red devils
1 blue crayfish

has anyone experienced these "mites" and any suggestions to how to get rid off them.

THANKS...

[vinz]

How long have you had them (the worms)? How old is the setup?

Could be a sign of overfeeding. Clear out leftover food quickly. Generally, do not feed more then what the fishes can finish in 5 mins. Anything left over should be removed immediately.

[loupgarou]

mites =louse like?

or you talking about worms = planaria

[vinz]

Sounds too small to be planaria.

[loupgarou]

Sounds too small to be planaria.

nematodes then.

[michael lai]

Hi Equinta,
Those small white worms/mites usually happens with new setup don't know why though but you could use anti snail medication or put in a few barbs. Both are effective BTW if you have pet snails or shrimps you might want to skip the anti snail medication cause its deadly for them
PS: They spread very quickly if left uncheck(The worms)

[ThevinQ]

yup, I'm plaugued with the mites/louse/flea like insects in my tank too... and I dun think it is related to new set ups coz my tank is abt 4 month old and the number of mites/louse/flea is steadily increasing... wat i do now is try to catch them manually (which is super inefficient )... i have tetras in the tank, but they dun seem interested in snacking on them so i also dunno wat to do...

[equinta]

this tank is about 4 months old, the mites just started appearing about 1 month ago. when i do water changes i clear out alot of them but then they return. when feeding i drop in the pellets 2 or 3 at a time and watch them eat them. i stop putting in pellets when the fish stop looking for them. I drop in sinking shrimp pellets from time to time, but if anything is left on the floor, my crayfish clears it out. so i dont think over feeding is the problem. should i go ahead and try the anti-snail medication? would it affect the crayfish?

[vinz]

It might affect your crayfish... It's an invert too.

[mitsukake]

how about Oto .. would they eat them?

[andrewtyr]

this tank is about 4 months old, the mites just started appearing about 1 month ago. when i do water changes i clear out alot of them but then they return. when feeding i drop in the pellets 2 or 3 at a time and watch them eat them. i stop putting in pellets when the fish stop looking for them. I drop in sinking shrimp pellets from time to time, but if anything is left on the floor, my crayfish clears it out. so i dont think over feeding is the problem. should i go ahead and try the anti-snail medication? would it affect the crayfish?

I use to have them too, but lately they stop appearing. And I did not do anything to my tank. Give it some more time, sometimes something else might wipe them out. I don't think they can cause harm to the bigger species in your tank.

[michael lai]

Hi Equinta, try tiger barbs, very effective (tried and proven) two days max, search and destroy. The anti-snail is deadly to anything on six legs man, don't try it.

[278923]

Wow so im not the only person wondering what the heck they are..... lol. I got a dragon fish with his own little corner in my 40 gal tank and he no longer goes there got a little suspicious closer inspection revealed the white spots. They literally look like the pictures of bacteria you see in books. XD. So the snail thing will not affect fish? only invertebrates?